I threw away my $20 Amazon Paddle for this. Here’s 5 reasons why.
This paddle has changed the game for me.
By Luna R
May 02, 2023
Like most of my friends, I decided to take up pickleball about a year ago and quickly found myself playing 3 or 4 nights a week at my local courts. I grew up playing tennis and picked it up quickly, but I found myself losing against stronger players every time. They were hitting the ball harder, putting more spin on their shots, and landing finesse shots perfectly. One day, an older guy told me, “I think you have the talent but you’re using a garbage paddle – try an extra one I have in my bag.” It turned out his extra paddle was a Friday paddle.
I immediately noticed a massive improvement in my game and was able to hit so much harder with a whole lot more confidence. I’ve learned how to dink in the kitchen and can put so much spin on my shots. Since then, I’ve purchased a Friday paddle for me and my boyfriend and we’re now signed up for my first ever mixed doubles tournament. Here are 5 reasons why I love the Friday paddle.
After starting to use the Friday paddle, I did a lot of research into the materials that other top brands were using and realized that Friday Paddles use largely the same materials – at nearly half the price. The Friday Paddle has it all – a Carbon Fiber Unibody Design, Sand-Blasted Abrasion Surface, Cushioned Grip, and Aero-Edge Guard for maximum performance.
The Friday Paddle is actually handmade with a carbon fiber surface that gives me so much more control for finesse shots in the kitchen compared to my old Amazon paddle. It’s also got a longer handle which I think improves my control.
I always used to be afraid of serving the ball hard because my old paddle was so inconsistent. The Friday paddle has such a good feel to it and I’m literally serving it as hard as I can – with confidence. When I first started playing, I was putting my index finger behind the paddle (terrible form), but the longer handle on the Friday paddle forces me to hold it normally, and I can hit with a lot more power as a result.
Since a pickleball paddle is a lot smaller than a tennis racket, I struggled to hit the sweet spot when I first started playing. The Friday paddle actually has foam injected into the outside of the paddle alongside the honeycomb core – the sweet spot is soo much larger than my Amazon paddle, which means I’m no longer embarrassing myself with shots that hit a dead spot and go nowhere.
I’m all for beautiful designs and Friday Paddles killed it with their designs. My personal favorite is the Banana Split (pictured below), but my boyfriend loves the design with the dots. I also was worried that the designed surface would impact the paddle's texture but it still has really nice grit (and it feels even more gritty than some of the other carbon fiber paddles I've used).